The Thick Of It star Peter Capaldi is next Doctor Who

Peter Capaldi might be used to playing the spin doctor Malcolm Tucker, but he’ll soon be playing a very different kind of doctor.

The Thick Of It star was announced on Sunday night as the new lead in Doctor Who, replacing Matt Smith in the iconic sci-fi programme.

He is the 12th Doctor, and the second Time Lord of the Stephen Moffat era.

In his first words as the new Doctor, Capaldi said: “It’s so wonderful not to keep this secret any longer.

“For a while I couldn’t tell my daughter. She was reading the rumours on the internet and getting upset that they weren’t mentioning me. I kept saying ‘Rise above it, rise above it.’

The 55-year-old is a life-long fan of the show.

When he was 15 the Radio Times published a letter he’d wrote praising the programme, and five years ago he finally appeared in the show opposite the 10th Doctor David Tennant in the episode The Fires of Pompeii.

“Being asked to play the Doctor is an amazing privilege,” he said.

“Like the Doctor himself I find myself in a state of utter terror and delight. I can’t wait to get started.”

Capaldi will take over the TARDIS in 2014.

What do you think of the announcement? Does Capaldi fit the bill as the next Time Lord, or will the Scot always be the all-swearing eye Malcolm Tucker? Let us know.